CEMC considers broadband internet for nearly 99,000 households

CEMC crew members stretch fiber-optic cable toward a substation is western Stewart County to communicate with the site from its Dover operation center. CEMC is considering whether to install 5,200 miles fiber cable across its five-county service area to offer broadband to its members.(Photo: Mark Hicks/The Leaf-Chronicle)Buy Photo

Cumberland Electric Membership Corp., better known as CEMC, is exploring the idea of bringing broadband internet service to its nearly 99,000 members across the electric provider’s five-county service area.

Officials say the process is “very preliminary,” but customers — or "members" as they are referred to by the nonprofit cooperative — should expect to soon be asked about whether to add internet.

“Basically, we want to know what they think,” said CEMC General Manager Chris Davis. “We really want to know members' interest. How many folks want to see Cumberland involved in this type of business?”

The member survey should be coming in the December-February time frame.

If it happens, finishing the project across the five counties — Cheatham, Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart and Sumner counties — could take up to five years.

“We know it’s going to take a while to deploy and construct 5,200 miles (of primary fiber-optic cable), plus potentially (bringing the cable to all) 99,000 members,” said Mark Cook, manager of CEMC's engineering division. “But we don’t want it to lag out for an extended amount of time.

"I don’t think we could do it in less than five years. And that’s really flooding the system with a lot of contractors doing fiber (cable installation)."

A number of factors — such as a business model, where to focus efforts first, competition, etc. — are still being considered.

Background

In 2012, CEMC first stretched about 25 miles of fiber-optic cable between its Clarksville and Springfield offices, then added another 6.5 miles to reach Gallatin.

In 2014, the cooperative launched a project to connect all its offices, substations and other equipment with fiber-optic cable, and the $7.5 million investment was completed in 2017 with 378 miles of cable installed over its service area, which stretches roughly 90 miles from Dover to Gallatin.

This slide shows current fiber-optic cable CEMC has installed for internal communications between its offices, service centers and substations across its five-county service area. The red icons are substations and the yellow are offices.(Photo: Contributed/CEMC)

“Today, it is our primary communication network between all of our offices, our substations; a lot of our field devices have a fiber connection communication tool," Cook said.

The Broadband Accessibility Act signed by Gov. Bill Haslam in 2017 was a game-changer for electric cooperatives providing telecommunication services.

“What that allowed was for cooperatives to have the legal opportunity to provide retail broadband services to their membership,” Cook said.

In late 2005, the Clarksville City Council approved the Clarksville Department of Electricity to branch out into telecommunications. Now, CDE Lightband covers the city with some 960 miles of fiber-optic cable to serve 68,000 customers.

The difference is CDE Lightband is operated by a municipality, whereas co-ops like CEMC that were set up as member-owned, could not do the same.

The Broadband Accessibility Act sets out some restrictions, such as limiting an entity like CEMC, the state's third largest electric co-op, to serve only its existing territory and to not overlap service with existing telephone cooperatives. Only one phone co-op in northeaster Sumner County operates in CEMC territory, serving less than 1,000 members.

Another requirement is CEMC must provide fiber-optic service to all its nearly 99,000 members who receive electricity.

“We can’t pick and choose where we serve or we don’t serve,” Cook said. “We have to offer it to everybody.”

Like CDE Lightband, CEMC would be required to create a separate business or subsidiary to separate communications from electric operations. Such a separation prevents the electricity business from financially subsidizing the communication business, or vice-versa.

Buy Photo

A CEMC lineman attaches fiber-optic cable to be pull along electrical lines in west Stewart County.(Photo: Mark Hicks/The Leaf-Chronicle)

What’s next

Two consulting firms, Conexon and FiberRise, have completed independent studies on adding broadband. CEMC is now reviewing those studies.

CEMC is also exploring funding options, like grants and loans, that might be available.

All the results are expected during December.

If the decision is made to move forward, CEMC's rates and service are expected to be comparable to other companies.

With the fiber-optic lines, CEMC would also be able to offer TV and phone service. Members would be able to decline any of the services, but they would be available to all.

“We hear stories all the time of existing telecom, whether it be a cable company or a phone company, that won’t come to me because it’s too far or it’s too far away from the density of residents," said Cook. "They just don’t do it. There’s no reason, and they don’t have to do it.

"But obviously, if the push is to have broadband in rural America, we can’t continue that methodology of picking and choosing where we can install it. Because then, we’re back to square one; we’re not really doing anything differently than telecoms have done the last 100 years.”

Other co-ops

Among some other electric co-ops that have committed to providing broadband service is Merriweather Lewis Electric Cooperative, which serves Houston, Humphreys, Hickman, Lewis and Perry counties.

Tennessee has 23 electric co-ops and this graphic indicates the ones that have or are building a broadband network for its members. CEMC is among the 10 evaluating whether to move forward with broadband services.(Photo: Contributed/ CEMC)

MLEC President and CEO Keith Carnahan said the co-op is investing $60 million to install about 2,200 miles of fiber-optic cable across its service area to support MLConnect, the co-op's broadband provider.

After much consideration, MLEC decided to build out the network themselves rather than entering into any partnerships.

They plan a four-phase approach during the next 44 months with areas around the larger cities like Erin, Waverly and Centerville getting broadband services before the expansion into more rural areas.

"You have to look at what is right for you and the area you serve," Carnahan said of their business plan.

Mark Hicks can be reached at 931-212-7626 or on Twitter: @markhicksleaf.